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Domestic Security
Domestic Security is the Imperium's feared secret police force. Responsible for public surveillance, counter-intelligence and suppression of political opposition along with more conventional tasks like combating corruption and organized crime, DomSec maintains an Imperium-wide mandate and jurisdiction. Domestic Security is also responsible for operating the Imperium's many penal labour camps. Although originally organized for a similar purpose and in a similar manner to the historical FBI, DomSec's reputation of ruthlesness has led many detractors to instead liken it to the Soviet NKVD or Nazi Germany's Gestapo. History Domestic Security was established in 2098, during the Skargh Wars, in order to counter the activities of enemy saboteurs and suppress defeatists and panic-mongers undermining morale at home. After the Skargh Wars, the organization was dedicated to combating of organized crime and corruption, and to counter-espionage DomSec's numbers were fairly small during that time, there being little need to repress crime or dissent in the prosperous Age of Peace. At that time, Domestic Security's primary focus was foreign spies. Domestic Security of the Old Imperium was a relatively obscure and little-known organization, only becoming the face of the state repressive apparatus much later. DomSec was reorganized into a much larger and more capable force in the aftermath of the Sidh Civil War, tasked with mercilessly hunting down any rebel, traitor, enemy sympathizer and malcontent who would dare to undermine the Imperial establishment in deed, word or by association. The organization was also entrusted to operate the Imperium's penal system, until then managed by Chamber of Justice. Under Domestic Security, the fairly lenient penal colonies of the Old Imperium were reformed into a brutal system of forced labour camps where abuse was rife and survival rates low. Presently, Domestic Security focuses on combating crime and political dissent, the counter-intelligence duties being largely assumed by the Order of Judicators. Overview Domestic Security is divided into several departments and administrations, each focusing on a particular aspect of the agency's duties. Domestic Security maintains presence on every formally recognized Imperial world under the tenure of it's local Precentor. Sector-wide operation of DomSec is overseen by a High Precentor, who in turn is accountable to the Precentor-General, the head of Domestic Security. While Domestic Security is widely feared for their reputation of brutality (one that they are deliberately not trying to dispel), the truth is somewhat less dreadful. Most often someone who has invited DomSec's attention will at first be summoned for a simple talk, a polite and even friendly agent questioning the citizen about his reasons of committing such unforgivable lapse of judgement, be it involvement in a questionable business affair, expression of borderline-heretical ideas or association with a shady character, and potentially offer the subject to become an informer to atone for his transgressions. In most cases, this conversation will be sufficient to convince the subject to cease and desist from further undesirable activities - every Sidh knows all too well that Domestic Security is never in the habit of warning twice. The few who are stubborn or foolhardy enough to ignore this thinly-veiled warning tend to find their doors kicked down by a decury of armed men in the middle of the night and get dragged off kicking and screaming, never to be seen or heard of again. Domestic Security is divided into the following agencies: Public Security Administration This institution is the most ubiquitous department of DomSec, it's main duty being public surveillance and keeping tabs on every citizen. Every city has one or several PSA hubs where datastreams incoming from the millions of surveillance cameras, microphones, drones, intercepted communications and other sources is gathered and processed, recording new information about every citizen and looking for suspicious activities. The massive amounts of data are managed by sophisticated AIs that filter out suspicious data from mundane traffic and forward it to PSA analysts for closer examination. PSA works closely with Urban Security and other emergency services, since their surveillance network is often the first to detect potential and ongoing accidents, crimes and other emergencies. Judicators also have both formal and informal "backdoor" access to the PSA surveillance networks and databases. Despite the obvious lack of privacy such extensive surveillance makes, most Sidhae generally regard it positively, believing that those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear. In a way that is true - since the vast majority of datafeeds are processed by AIs, there is little opportunity for a DomSec operative to maliciously abuse this information for personal ends. Organized Crime Prevention Department As the name suggests, OCPD's main purpose is fighting organized crime. This is perhaps the best-equipped branch of DomSec, with it's own commando teams, armor, artillery, attack aircraft and even starships - the organized crime gangs in the Imperium that are dangerous enough to attract DomSec's attention often rival minor nation-states in size and power. The majority of OCPD operatives, however, are investigators, IT experts and desk clerks whose job is to seek out information and evidence of wrongdoing before dispatching the troops to take care of the problem. OCPD maintains a wide network of informants to keep tabs on the crime syndicates and lesser gangs. Corruption Prevention Department Working closely with the State Revenue Service, CPD focuses mainly on political corruption, graft, embezzlement, tax evasion and other white-collar crimes falling under their jurisdiction. CPD supervises all financial transactions within the Imperium, investigating any suspicious economic activities. They are the bane of every politician and bureaucrat on distant worlds who might erroneously believe that their remoteness puts them beyond reach of the law. Domestic Intelligence Department Often shortened to DomIntel, DID is responsible for tracking down enemy spies, saboteurs and provocateurs, along with any native heretics, dissidents, enemy sympathizers and other traitorous scum. DomIntel is particularly infamous and feared for their brutal treatment of "politicals" - where an enemy spies are essentially soldiers carrying out a mission for their country, political offenders are just ordinary traitors and are consequently treated as such. Any Sidh who has dared to embrace and promote unpatriotic and un-Sidh views risks running afoul of DID with dire consequences. Correctional Labour Administration Lastly, CLA is the branch responsible for operating the Imperium's penal labour camps. This is the most unpopular branch of service within Domestic Security due to the low prestige and difficult living conditions in penal colonies, to the point that being transferred to CLA is in itself a punishment, meted out for disciplinary infractions. Since service in the CLA has strongly become associated with poor disciplinary record or other offenses, DomSec troops who have served a time guarding the camps often find it very difficult to advance outside this branch later on. For this reason, a transfer to CLA is essentially a career-ender, most resigning from DomSec after the expiration of their contract afterwards. Trivia Decurion Patricia Adonis and her men are the first DomSec characters to feature in Frencoverse RPs in any significant roles.